00:01A breakthrough with Iran. The U.S. says there's a tentative 60-day cease-fire agreement on the table.
00:07What it could mean for the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program.
00:11Plus, a fireball in Florida. Blue Origin's new Glenn rocket explodes during a launch pad test just days before its
00:19next mission.
00:20And Trump on the money?
00:23The Treasury Department preparing for a possible $250 bill featuring the president.
00:28And critics are not holding back.
00:33The stories that matter, clear and credible, from across the country to around the world.
00:39These are your unbiased updates from Straight Arrow.
00:45Good morning, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
00:47The United States and Iran are moving closer to a longer-term deal this morning.
00:51But President Trump has not yet signed off on it.
00:54The tentative Memorandum of Understanding would extend the current cease-fire for 60 days and open a new round of
01:01talks over Iran's nuclear program.
01:03That's what a U.S. official familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press.
01:08Vice President J.D. Vance confirmed Thursday the two sides have reached a preliminary agreement.
01:14But he said major questions still need to be resolved before any final deal can be reached.
01:20There are certain details that are going to have to be figured out that are going to take a little
01:23bit of time to be caught me.
01:25Just take, for example, even if you come to an agreement on, let's say, destroying the enriched stockpile, how do
01:31you do it?
01:31When do you do it?
01:32How do you actually get access to it?
01:33Because I think we're making progress.
01:35We're getting to a point where we could potentially sit down and settle these issues.
01:39But that requires us to make a little bit more progress.
01:41I can't guarantee that we're going to get there.
01:44But right now I feel pretty good about it.
01:45Even as talks continue, the U.S. is keeping pressure on Tehran.
01:50The Treasury and State Departments announced new sanctions Thursday, targeting Hong Kong-based companies the U.S. has helped move
01:57and finance Iranian oil.
01:58The State Department said the sanctions target what it called the financial lifelines of Iran's military and the Islamic Revolutionary
02:07Guard Corps.
02:08Wait till you see this.
02:10This morning, a major setback for Blue Origin after its new Glenn rocket exploded during a test on the launch
02:17pad at Cape Canaveral.
02:19The fiery blast happened during an engine firing test as the company prepared for a satellite mission scheduled for next
02:26week.
02:27Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos called it a very rough day, but said no one was hurt and teams are
02:33already working to determine what caused the failure.
02:36You see the fireball right there.
02:37The loss is another blow for the New Glenn program.
02:40Just last month, the rocket was grounded after an engine problem left a satellite in the wrong orbit.
02:46Blue Origin plans to use New Glenn for future NASA missions, including delivering landers to the moon as part of
02:54the Artemis program.
02:54The company had been targeting a full launch for a prototype moon lander.
02:59It's too early to know whether this explosion will force that timeline to slip.
03:04A proposal to put President Trump on a new $250 bill is moving from political messaging to actual Treasury planning.
03:14The Trump administration is preparing for the possibility of a commemorative note tied to America's 250th anniversary celebration,
03:21even though current federal law bars living people from appearing on U.S. currency.
03:27The Treasury Department says it has started planning work connected to legislation introduced last year by South Carolina Congressman Joe
03:35Wilson.
03:36Wilson's bill would require the government to print a commemorative $250 note featuring Trump's portrait.
03:43The congressman introduced the bill in February of 2025, but it's been sitting in committee ever since.
03:48The Washington Post first reported that Treasury officials pushed the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to prepare prototypes and mock
03:56-ups of the bill.
03:57One version shows Trump's portrait centered on the note.
04:01Treasury Secretary Scott Besson faced questions about the plan during Thursday's White House briefing.
04:06It's all in the hands of the, it's all up on Capitol Hill.
04:12At Treasury, we prepare things in advance, so we have prepared in advance that if the legislation is passed, but
04:21we will stick to the law.
04:23Current law only allows deceased individuals to appear on U.S. currency, so Congress would have to change federal law
04:31before any bill could move forward.
04:33The administration is also working on other America 250 commemorative items tied to Trump, including a proposed $1 coin.
04:42Do you think politically it's a good idea to put his face on a $250 bill when people are struggling
04:47to afford gas?
04:48You know, I don't really understand this Washington Post article that, who hears from the Post, yep, terribly written, terribly
04:56edited.
04:56Because basically what it says is that Treasury is following the law and that we've created the bill and that
05:04it's up to Congress, but that we follow the bill and it's up to, I didn't really understand what the
05:08story was.
05:08House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, blasted the proposal on X, posting, quote, hard no on a Trump $250 bill.
05:17Get over yourself.
05:18No vote has been scheduled on the legislation.
05:21A federal judge is letting President Trump's push to limit mail-in voting move forward, at least for now.
05:28A Trump-appointed judge in Washington rejected an effort by Democrats and civil rights groups to temporarily block the president's
05:36executive order overhauling parts of the election system.
05:40The order calls for a federal list of eligible voters and would direct the Postal Service to deliver mail ballots
05:46only to people on that list.
05:48U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ruled it's too early to step in because the order has not actually been
05:54implemented yet.
05:55But he left the door open for future legal challenges if the administration moves forward with specific changes.
06:02Trump signed the order back in March after a Republican-backed election bill stalled in Congress.
06:07He's long attacked mail-in voting, claiming it's riddled with fraud, even though multiple audits and investigations, including some run
06:15by Republicans, found no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
06:20Elections officials and postal workers have warned the plan could create confusion and disrupt how mail-in ballots are handled
06:27before the midterms.
06:28A separate challenge to the executive order is still playing out in federal court in Boston.
06:34A growing list of musicians is backing out of a major concert series planned for the National Mall this summer.
06:41The event is part of the Great American State Fair, a two-week celebration marking America's 250th birthday.
06:48But several artists now say they didn't know about the event's connections to Trump-aligned organizers when they agreed to
06:55take part.
06:56Martina McBride, Morris Day and the Time, the Commodores, Bret Michaels, and Young MC have all pulled out.
07:02Young MC said on social media that artists were never told about any political involvement before signing on.
07:09Others are sticking with the show. Vanilla Ice remains on the schedule and Flo Rida is still expected to perform.
07:17Organizers with Freedom 250 reject the criticism, saying the event is nonpartisan and designed to bring people together through music,
07:25culture, and a celebration of the country's 250th anniversary.
07:29Finally this morning is something a bit light and joyful to leave you with on this Friday.
07:34For most kids, swimming lessons are a summer rite of passage.
07:39Well, as it turns out, the same goes for baby otters.
07:43Three rare giant otter pups have just emerged from their den at the Chester Zoo in England.
07:50Look, at 15 weeks old, their parents, Bonita and Manu, are wasting no time introducing them to the water.
07:57Keepers say the lessons started the way many do, a little encouragement, a little nervousness, and eventually a big splash.
08:05The two males and one female are learning how to dive, paddle, and navigate the pool on their own.
08:11And so far, they seem to be taking to it just fine.
08:15Giant otters, by the way, are the largest otter species in the world and are considered endangered in the wild.
08:23Conservationists estimate only a few thousand remain across South America, mostly in the Amazon River Basin.
08:29I still remember when my mom signed us up for swimming lessons as a kid.
08:33It was always early in the morning when the pool water was the coldest.
08:38We would stand around the pool, like, shivering before jumping in.
08:41Oh, my gosh.
08:42Glad this turned out better.
08:44All right, before we head out, here's what we're tracking today.
08:46This morning, former Attorney General Pam Bondi sits for a closed-door interview with House investigators as part of the
08:53committee's Jeffrey Epstein probe.
08:55At 10, Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister at the State Department.
09:02Tonight in Texas, Democratic Senate candidate James Tallarico makes a campaign stop in San Antonio.
09:08No noise, no sides.
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09:26Those are your Unbiased Updates for this Friday.
09:28We'll see you back here next week.
09:29For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:32Have a great day and a fantastic weekend.
09:35For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:36For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:36For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:37For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:37For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
09:37For all of us here at Straight Arrow, I'm Craig DeGrelli.
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